Machine for opening and cleaning fibrous material



Junk/.17, 1923. 11,462,459 w. YOULTEN MACHINE FOR OPENING AND CLEANINGFIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Nov. 14 1921 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 17, 1923. mmfiw. YOULTEN MACHINE FOR OPENING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Nov.14. 1921 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 MACHINE FOR OPENING AND CLEANING FIBROUSMATERIAL Filed Nov. 14. 1921 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Jufly 17, 1923. irmms W.YOULTEN MACHINE FOR OPENING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Nov. 141921 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 17, 1923. 11,462,459 w. YOULTEN MACHINE .FOROPENING AND CLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed No v. 14. 1921 '7Sheets-Sheet 5 July17,1923. v M62459 JV. YOULTEN MACHINE FOR OPENING ANDCLEANING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Nov. -14. 1921 7 Sheets-Sheet '7Patented duly 1?, i923.

unite lalltizflli it WILLIAM YOULTEN, OF HOVE, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TU H:BRY SEYIVIOUR FOSTER, OF

WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND, AND LOUIS NAPOLEON SCHOENIEELD, OF HOVE, ENG-LAND.

MACHINE FOB GPENING AND CLEANING FIBBOUS MATERIAL.

Application filed November 14, 1921.

T 0 all whom it 'i/my concern:

Be it known that I, VVVILL'IAM YoULTnN, a subject of the King of GreatBritain and Ireland, residing at 25 Brunswick Square, Hove, in thecounty of Sussex, England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Machines; for Opening and Cleaning Fibrous Material, ofwhich the fol lowing is a specification.

This invention relates to machines for opening and cleaning fibrousmaterial, and refers to apparatus of the class in question, by means ofwhich much of the said material, can be cleaned and prepared for use inindustry in a more economical and satisfactory manner than has hithertobeen the case.

The machine constructed according to my present invention, comprises arectangular or like frame provided with an inner preferably ellipticalchamber in which are mount ed a series of heaters arranged spirally on adrum orits equivalent presenting a serrated surface. The said heatersare adapted to revolve at a high rate of speed.

Means are furnished for introducing the material to be treated, so thatit shall be brought under the influence of the heaters and freed fromdust and other solid matter which is dealt with by special meansconstituting an important feature of the invention.

Means are also added for the expulsion of the treated material.

Devices are further provided by means of which the quantity, moment ofintroduction and exit of the material automatically controlled.

In this connection the invention includes automatic controllingmechanism for operating the base and product valves, said mechanismbeing constructed to permit the turning of the opening and closing ofsaid valves and the duration of the treatment of the material in theapparatus to be easily and quickly adjusted whilst the apparatus is inoperation without it being necessary to stop. the machine whilst suchadjustments are being made. This feature is of considerable importanceas it permits the machine to be readily adjusted to obtain the mosteffective results from material varying within wide limits in quality.

The construction of the discharge valve or flap and the mechanism foroperating the Serial No. 515,101.

same are constructed to ensure the correct opening and closing thereof,suitable means being provided for permitting the extent of opening ofsaid valve to be limited so as to change the direction in which thedischarge of the material takes place.

Apparatus for the conveyance and removal from the machine of thematerial under treatment is also preferably combined with the saidmachine as hereinafter more fully described.

In order that the invention may be readily understood, I will nowproceed to describe the preferred construction according to theinvention reference being made to the accompanying drawings, in whichFig. 1 is a side view of the machine.

F ig. 2 is a front view.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation to a larger scale and partly in sectionshowing the automatic controlling mechanism for the base and productvalve.

Fig. a is a side elevation partly in section of Fig. 3.

F ig. 5 is a sectional view of Figure 3, the section being takenapproximately on the line 55 of that figure.

Figs. 6 and 7 are side elevation and front view respectively of amodified arrangement of links or levers forming part of the mechanismfor operating the base feed valve or flap.

Fig. 8 is a side elevation and,

Fig. 9 a front elevation, also to a larger scale, showing the ellipticalchamber in which the heaters rotate, each of said views being shownpartly in section.

Fig. 10 is an end view of the heater shown in Fig. 9 and indicated bydotted lines in Fig. 8.

Figs. 11, 12 and 13 are side view front view and plan respectively ofone of the spirally arranged arms or studs on the heater.

Fig. 14 is a view showing a simple method of securing the arms or studsto the beater shaft.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing the preferred construction andarrangement of the discharge flap.

The frame of the machine comprises two side members 10 of cast orwrought iron embracing between them rectangular sheet iron enclosure 11provided with a pair of doors 12, 12 on one side hinged at 1.3 to theside members and secured when closed by means of latches or othersuitable fastening devices indicated at let.

Below the doors is a space or openlng in which is located a suction pipe16, provided with a delivery chute 17, by means of which dust, etc., isremoved.

In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2 it will be seen that theautomatic control gearing for the base feed and product valves issecured to the top of the frame 10, whilst Figs. 8, 4t and 5 show thesame control gearing arranged for suspension from girders or the ceilingabove the frame.

The machine maybe driven directly by a motor, by belt connection or froma countershaft or line shaft.

Upon either side member, brackets 18, 18 are provided. These bracketssupport three ball bearing pedestals or journals 19 one being providedon the bracket 18, and two on the bracket 18, these latter are spacedsufficiently far apart for a pulley to revolve between them.

The bearings carry the beater shaft 21, which extends the whole width ofthe frame 2 and through the bearings, and has mounted thereon a pulley20, usually driven by a belt from the counter shaft, or it may if foundmore convenient be driven directly from a motor. Secured on one of theside members is a sheet metal elbow 22, forn'iing the lower portion of aduct for conveying material to be treated to the machine. It is mountedover an opening 28 in the side member of the frame and allows thematerial to enter the machine freely for treatment. The upper portion24: of the duct,

from the elbow upwards may be of wood or sheet metal.

Inside the frame or box, and supported by the side members is anelliptical chamber 25, in which the material is treated; but when aseries of beaters is employed the shape may be altered to suitrequirements. The elliptical. chamber when viewed in section, preferablyhas its major axis inclined at an angle of about 70 degrees to thehorizontal (Figs. 1 and 8) and it is so mounted that one of the heaterslies in the lower, narrow end of the ellipse. The chamber itself isconstructed in any approved manner one method shown in Figs. 8 and 9being to surround cast iron flanges 25 on both side members with sheetmetal 26, which extends from one side member to the other. Theelliptical chamber 25 being smaller than the box, air spaces 27 and 27are left all round on either flank of the ellipse and at top and bottom.

The lower portion of the elliptical casing, opposite the major axis, isperforated or provided with special removable grids 28 of. varying mesh,correspondingly shaped.

These grids provide means whereby dirt and other waste material may beeliminated from the elliptical chamber during the operation of themachine while retaining the useful part of the material under treatment.

In the construction shown in Figs. 8 and 9, the dirt and other solidmatter drops on to a wooden or other chute 29 and is thence conveyed bya spiral conveyor 30 or a series of conveyors, or a current of air orsuction may be employed forthis purpose, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Inanother construction slides of box like form may be provided under themachine and emptied at intervals. Light dust and dust laden air isexhausted by a fan and is either blown or sucked away and passed througha dust collector.

T he air space between the elliptical chamber and the outer casing onthegrid side, is closed at the top by a curved plate 31 Fig. 8, and at thebottom by the chute, so that there is no connection with the air spaceon the other side of the machine unless it is desired to make suchconnection.

A flap 32 is provided preferably hinged below the beater extending thewhole width ofthe machine below the elliptical, chamber.

in the construction shown in Fig. 1-, the flap or valve 32 is hingedonthe side adjacent the grid, whereas in Fig. 8 the valve flap is hingedon the side remote from the grid, in either construction a chute isprovided into which the finished material is discharged when the flap 32is opened, the chute being shown in Fig. 8 at The flap is operated byany suitable means but preferably by automatic mechanism hereinafterdescribed.

The beater or rotor in the preferred form consists of a shaft 21,carrying a concentric tube or drum 3% on which are mounted beater armsor blades 35. The tube-3 1 is closed at each end by caps 36, eachprovided with a central boss to facilitate attachment thereof to theshaft 21 and with a flanged periphery extending into the counterboredopen. end of the drum 3%, in which it secured by bolts The beater arms35 project. outwardly with spiral twist from a curved base portion 35*(Figs. 11 14:) and each arm is secured to the curvedsurface of the tube34- by a pair of bolts 38 one on each side of the blade. T he nuts onthe bolts may be secured by lock nuts of suitable construction but Iprefer to employ locking strips 39. These locking strips are ofelongated U shape, the outer ends being bent outwardly and perforated topass over theentis of the bolts of each beater arm. The limbs of the Uin this manner closely embrace the flat outer faces of each nut 10 andsecurethe same against working loose. By thismeans there is nopossibility of the loss of a bolt or of the nuts working loose, Inanalternative construction I may employ two concentric tubes, the beaterarms being secured to the outer tube in which case the inner-tubepremanner, and the spirals are so disposed that during rotation of thebeaters the material is drawn towards the centre of the ellipticalchamber, the forward edges of the spirals during rotation being at theends ofthe tube 34-. By this means the material under treatment iscarried round in a circular path by the blades co-operating with thecurved inner surface of the elliptical chamber and simultaneously movedor conveyed inwardly towards the centre this combined movement resultingin most satisfactory results.

The space between the periphery of the beater arms or studs and theinside of the elliptical casing is determined at the narrow est point byconsideration of the material to be treated, and the machine may be manewith this dimension fixed or adjustable.

The machine just described is utilized in the following manner Theuntreated material or material that has already been treated once ortwice, is dropped into a hopper d1 (Figs. 1 and 2) connected to orforming part of the feed tube 24;, in predetermined quantities.

The feed tube or duct is not necessarily at a point above the machine asthe material may be conveyed mechanically or may be blown in.

The hopper of the feed tube is closed by a flap 42 operated by rods andlevers from automatic gear hereinafter described, or it may be operatedby hand, so that more or less fixed quantity of material can bedelivered, at regular intervals to the machine.

On entering the machine, the material is dropped upon the beater, whichis revolving at a high speed and is carrying round with it a quantity ofair. The surface presented by the beater is a serrated one, and uponfalling upon it the material is struck or flicked by the rapidlyrevolving arms which also project it in a more or less disintegratedstate at such an angle from the beater, that it strikes the plain curvedsurface of the elliptical chamber, which it leaves at a tangent or isdriven round following the curve of the ellipse. In doing so it passesacross the grid 28, where solid matter, such as dirt,

chiv, seeds, etc liberated by the action of the boaters, drop outthrough the space in the grids, partly by the action of gravity andpartly by the movement of the material across the grid.

Dust and dirt-laden air is driven out or sucked out through the grid anddealt with by special methods.

Any loose fibres or small tufts that are practically of solid matter ordust tend to remain in a state of suspension owing to the pneumaticeffect of the'rapidly revolving heaters but the unopened tufts and lumpsare continually falling back into the paths of the heaters and arereceiving a flicking from the tips of the said beater-s or being pickedup 7 and driven over the grid until such time as the heavy wastematerial and dust are practically eliminated.

At a given moment, the flap 32, for dell"- ering the product isautomatically opened by the gear referred to later on, and the clean andexpanded material is driven or sucked out in the direction required. Theflap is then automatically closed, more fibre is admitted and theprocess is repeated.

it has been estimated from practical experience that every time thematerial comes under the influence of the heaters, it receives froml0,000 to 20,000 light taps or flicks which together with the pressureof air carried round by the heater itself, produces a vibropneumaticaction, which tends thoroughly to loosen individual fibres, whereby theminute dust adhering to them is extracted. The process moreover-assistsrery materially in straightening out the fibres in the subsequentmachine processes.

l prefer to combine with the machine before described an automatic gear,the object of which is to vary the introduction of the raw materialknown as base and also the exit or cischarge from the machine of thetreated material or products. This mechanism is shown in Figs. 1 and 2and more particularly in Figs. 3-7.

i provide a cast iron steel or other frame which may be suspended fromthe ceiling over the machine as shown in Figs. 3 and at, or placed onthe top of the chamber 11 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

This steel frame carries, supported in bearings at either end, twosuperimposed cast iron speed cones, d4, 45 with their frusta opposed andtheir axes horizontal. The upper cone 4 lreceives motion by means offast and loose pulleys lG 2) attached to the spindle l? at one end anddriven by belt or other connections from a motor or countershaft. Theupper cone drives the lower by means of a short leather or othersuitable belt 4-8 the position of which can be changed at willlongitudinally means of a hand chain i9 and pulley 50, which givesmotion to a screwed shaft This shaft causes a block 52 carrying a pairof belt forks to traverse from end to end of the speed. cones, in turncausing the belt 48 to move with it, and thereby as the belt at thelarger or smaller end of the upper cone ll causing the lower cone torevolve at 80 ill) .on the floor below the automatic gear.

the greatest or lowest speed, thus providing a large number ot'possiblesmall variations of speed'l or the lower cone, between maximum andminimum.

The screwed shalt which actuates the belt fork is supported at eitherend in bracket bearings 53 bolted to the steel frame l3 and is extendedat one end beyond the bearing,

to a sullicient extent tor the chain pulley to befitted. The chain 49 isof such length as to be within easy reach of the operator y pulling thechain in the required direction, the screwed shaft :31 is revolved andin doing so traverses the bolt fork, thereby securing the desired changeof speed.

The spindle 5a of the lower speed cone a5 is extended through itshearing at one end and terminates in a worm 55 secured to the shaft byany approved means. It is usually single threaded and right hand. Thethreads of the worm are engaged with the teeth of a large horizontalworm wheel 56, which is consequently driven at a reduced speed.

The worm wheel is provided with a short hollow stub spindle 57 whichfits in the socket 58 provided in the steel casting. Inter-posed betweenthe underside of the worm wheel and the steel casting and about itscentre is a horizontal thrust bearing 59 which provided the main bearingfor the worm wheel, but the latter is further supported by hardenedsteel rollers 60, located at its periphery and interposed between theunderside of the worm wheel and a horizontal extension of the steelcasting.

On the upper side of the worm wheel, 'two concentric grooves are cut toform seating for two horizontal, hardened steel ring cam- 61, 62,secured from the underside of the wheel by a series of screws. A portionof the surface of each cam is cut away to form a depression of therequired extent, flat at the bottom and with inclined descent and ascent. The sharpness of the descent and ascent together with the extentor length of the depressed part of the cam, govern the speed ofoperation for any particular worm wheel speed. and the interval elapsingbetween the movements ot' the system of levers and the rods actuated bythe cams.

Directly over the centre of the. worm wheel and on either side over theouter and inner cams respectively, and formed in the steel casting areguides 63, 64 and 65 for the base and product poppets and the cross head66 of the operating rod for the prod uct flap on the fibre machine.

The outer ring cam 61, operates the product fiap of the fibre machine,and the inner mg cam 62 the flap in the base feed flap by means ofpoppets and rods connected withv them.

These popnets 67. 67 are a sliding fit in comes underneath them. Theythen descent.

the guides63 and-64 in the steel casting, and terminate'at their lowerends in hardened steel rollers whichfbear in the face of the cams. a

111 action the worm wheel revolves under the poppets, until thedepressed portion the incline andremain at their lowest position for aninterval depending upon tie worm wheel speed after which they are forcedupwards to their highest position, that is to the upper surface of thecam, the second incline comes underneath them.

The poppets are then given a rl-iciprocating movement which ismultiplied about to twelve times in the case of the product poppet 67 bymeans of two levers and a link. The product poppet is attached by a pin(58 at its upper extremity to the short arm oi? a lever 69 hung on apivot 70 secured in the steel casting. The long arm of the lever isattached at its extremity to a link 7],, which in turn is attached totheshort arm of another lei'er 72, also hung on a pivot The long arm ofthe second lever terminates in a fork T-l, with a parallel opening. Thefork is engaged with a pin or trunnion carried by the cross head 66attached to a rod T5, in such a manner thatas the forked lever swingsupwards and downwards on its pivot the cross head is raised and loweredin a straight line.

The product rod cross head consists of a square block usually of steel,and is a sliding fitin the guide 65 an extension of the steel "listing.The latter co? *ists of a square tube, machined to take the cross headand of sui licient length to. accommodate its v up and down movement. netube is situated directly over the centre or the worm wheel and isslottcdon one side to accommodate the forked lever, and allow of itsmovement.

The product rod which passes through the centre of the worm wheel and isadjustably connected to thecross head pro-- vided with a guide in theform ol? arap T6 fitted to the bottom of the worm wheelspindle socket58. The product rod forms a connecting link between the automatic gearand the product .tlap on the fibre machine, which it operates by meanso'l' lever, in its up and down movement.

The construction of the product llap is shown in Fig. 1,5. The fiap 32is mounted on a shaft 77 and extendingparallel with this shaft is asecond shaft 78 supported in suitable housings attached to the machineframe. The bearings are 02!? the radial double row, self aligning type,mounted in dust proof bearings, which are supported on cast ironbrackets, secured to the side frames of the machine. Externally at oneend of the machine is a lever TQrigidly secured to the shaft by means ofa key and being shrunk on, or it may be screwed on to the shaft Ill)with. a right or left hand screw depending upon the direction of thethrust. This lever is operated by the rod 75.- The movement imparted by{.113 autou'iatic machine, turns this lever through an angle ofapproximate ly 90 degrees.

Externally and at the opposite end of said shaft is a weight carryinglever 80 which is so set in relation to the first mentioned lever thattheir centre lines make an angle of about 20 degrees with each other.The angular difference between the centre of levers,

results in the weight carrying lever being very nearly perpendicularwhen the dis charge flap 32 is open, and horizontal when the dischargeflap is closed. The weighted lever carries near its extremity a cheeseweight 81, of the size required. The weight is slotted to receive thefree end of the lever and is rigidly secured thereto by means of aset-screw. The position of this weight is adjusted after the leversysten'rhas been erected, and the surplus material on the lever is cutaway. l i hen the discharge flap 32 open the centre of gravity of thisweight almost directly over the centre of the sh t 78, and consequentlyit exerts little no i i-- fiuence on the lever system while i' thisposition. When, however. the discharge flap is closed, the lever andcheese weight are horizontal, and the pressure exerted by the weight isat a maximum.

Secured to the shaft between close to the side frames of the machine,are cranked levers 82, secured to the shaft by sunk keys. To the freeends of these levers, linl-Ls are attached by means of knuckle jointsand pins. The crank levers are shaped at their free ends, so as to'prevent having to use an eXcessivel -J long knuckle joint for thepurpose of clearance and also to prevent locking of the lever and linkwhen the discharge flap is open. The links are i rovided with knucklejoints, stems and the lock nuts. Bots ends of the stems and both knucklejoints in each case are threaded with a sui able right hand thread. Thenuts are first run on the ends of the stem, following by the knucklejoints which after adjustment to the length of the link required arelocked in position by means of the nuts. By this means also adjustmentis provided for wear taking place in the holes of the knuckle joints andlevers and on the joint pins.

The other ends of the links are in each case attached by means of pins84, to the lugs 85 rigidly secured to hinges of the curved dischargeflap 32 by rivets or screws, and they are situated at the point wheremaximum thrust occurs on the surface of the discharge flap, due to theaction taking place inside the machine.

The discharge flap which is of sheet metal, is curved to conform withthe lower portion of the treating chamber and is provided with hinges,secured to the spindle or shaft 77 by any suitable means, such as a sunkkey.

The external ends of the flap spindle ii are carried by ball bearings ofthe radial double row, self alignino type, fitted in dust proofhousings. The housings are supported on cast iron brackets, secured tothe side frames of the machine. The flap is thus capable of opening andclosing radially the extent of novement being fixed by the movement ofthe operating lever.

The shaft is positioned on a line, making an angle of 60 with thevertical and passing through the centre of the lower portion of thetreating chamber. 7

In an extension of the valve shaft 71" a sector 86 is secured with asunk key, or by being shrunk on or by any other suitable means. Thesector has a groove '57 on its periphery for the reception of a strandedsteel flexible cable 88, the right or free end of which is secured tothe sector in the follow ing manner.

A small half round lug is cast with one of the arms of the sector, andit is drilled and tapped for a screw. Opposite this in the rim of thesector a hole 89 is drilled which communicates with the groove. The freeend of the steel cable is laid in the groove and a suil'icient quantityis threaded through the hole and bent round the surface of the lug 90.It is then secured from unwinding by a clip 91 of bridge pattern whoseturned down ends embrace he wire cable. The clip is secured in place onthe lug by a screw. The height of the lug above the surface of thesector arm is such that when the screw is properly home, the steel cableis slightly pinched thus making a secure fastening. The other end of thecable terminates in a thimble 92 over which the end of the cable isspliced.

The cable passes over the surface of a suitable grooved pulley 93,supported on a shaft carried in ball bearings of radial double row, selfaligning type which are supported by a bracket bolted to the side frameof the machine. Hooked into the thimble is a spindle 95, which isscrewed at its lower end and terminates in a. circular plate 96, towhich it is secured by a nut, the whole forming a carrier for a balanceweight 97, consisting of weights of cheese pattern. The weights haveslots to enable them to be placed onto the carrier without having to bethreaded on to the spindle.

Eutlicient weights are added to balance the valve or flap plus a smallamount to ensure that when the flap is open and the weighted lever is ina vertical position, that there will be sufficient weight to overcomethe inertia of the lever system, and commence the movement of closingthe valve flap.

In operation the automatic control mechanism will cause the rod to moveintermitthrough the medium of the links opens and closes the flap andalso displaces the weighted lever.

In the upward stroke, power has to be expended in. lifting the weightedlever, but the 15 iil'ort required rapidly decreases from maX- imum,when it is horizontal, to minimum, when vertical. In the downwardstroke, after the counterbalance weights have overcome theinertia of thelever system and flap,

the weighted lever is suiiiciently to close the flaps and maintain ittightly closed against the maximum pressure exerted inside the operatingchamber.

As the flap valve 32 turns about its axis Jhe sector 86 moves with it,winding or unwinding the steel cable and thus raising or lowering thecounterbalance weight 97. As the flap opens. power is expended inraising the extra weight added over and above that required to balancethe flap, but is given out again as the flap closes and the weightfalls.

The base poppet 67 is attached directly by a pin to a rod 101, having anadjustable screwed connection to a connecting rod 102. is connected tothe shorter arm of a two armed lever 103, supported on a pivot 104,carried by bracket 105. The supporting bracket may be suspended fromabove the machine as shown in Fig. 1, or it may be mounted on the floorabove the machine as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The longer arm of the lever103 is connected in Fig. 1 to the short arm of a lever 106 carried by ashaft 107, said shaft being supported in bearing bracket 108. The shaft107 has keyed thereto at one end a pulley 109. over or on which iswound. a flexible band or cord 110 carrying counterbalance weights 111.The other end of the shaft 107 carries an arm 112, the free end of whichis connected by an adjust-able linl' 113, to a lever 11st, carried bythe. spindle on which the base flap 1-2 is mounted. The constructionshown in Figs. 6 and. 7 is in all respects similar in operation, thelonger arm of the lever 103, being connected by a pair of links to alever 116, supported by a bracket 11?, the opposite end of the leverbeing connected to one arm of a bell crank lever fixed to the spindle ofthe base teed flap.

The base feed flap 4-2 is designed to retain the charge of base in thefeed hopper 11, for treatment in the fibre machine, until,

The upper end of the rod 102.

owing to the action of the base cam 62, the flap is opened and thecharge dropped in to the machine. I i

In operation the automatic gearing is set to the speed most suitable forthe material under treatment the setting being obtained by altering theposition 01 the belt on the speed cones, 44:, 15 by means or the handchain 1-9 and screwed shaft 51. The range of speed peri'nissible by thisarrangement provides a most flexible control for the base feed anddischarge flaps and covers all classes oat fibres.

What I claim and desire to secure by- Letters Patent of the UnitedStates of America is 1. .sipparatus for opening and cleaning fibrousmaterial comprising a chamber into which the material is delivered, anda rotary heater in said chamber having blades arranged in rows anddisposed in spiral formation, the spirals commencing at the ends of thebeater and meeting towards the centre.

2. Apparatus for opening and cleaning fibrous material as claimed inclaim 1, wherein delivery and discharge of thematerial to and from thebeater chamber is effected by flaps or valves, adapted to beautomatically. controlled through variable speed mechanism, saidmechanism driving a worm wheelprovided with cams adapted to operatetappets connected to each of said valves through links and levers, ortheir equivalent.

apparatus for opening and cleaning fibrous material as claimed in claim2, wherein the variable speed mechanism through which the worm wheel isdriven comprises a pair of speed cones, around which passes a belt. saidbelt being adapted to be adjusted longitudinally of the cones, by a.member carried by a rotatable screw threaded rod or spindle extendingparallel to the axes of said cones substantially as described.

1. Apparatus for opening and cleaning fibrous material. as claimed inclaim 2, wherein the worm wheel is arranged to 1'0- tate about avertical axis, and is provided with a hollow stub axle through whichpasses aconnecting rod forming part of the lever mechanism, by meanso't' which the product valve is operated.

Apparatus for opening and cleaning fibrous material as claimed in claim2, wherein the closing of the base and product valves is assisted bycounterbalance weights so arranged, as to become effective only when thevalves or flaps commence their movement to the closed position,substantially as described.

In witness whereof I atfix my signature. 1

WILLIAM YoUn'rEN,

